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Collmenter back in rotation, at least for now

Collmenter back in rotation, at least for now

The 26-year-old righty has made appearances this season as a starter, a long reliever and short reliever for the D-backs, and has taken it all in stride.

"Collmenter has the ability to understand what his role is for that day and he just prepares for that," said manager Kirk Gibson. "If we asked him to just get up and get ready for the next hitter, he could do it, in my mind. If Joe Saunders can't make his start and [Collmenter's] got 10 minutes to warm up, he just does it."

With the recent decision to send young Trevor Bauer back to Triple-A Reno for some mechanical tweaking, Gibson chose Collmenter to return to the rotation -- for now.

Collmenter has 18 appearances, including seven starts. Even with Collmenter slated to start Sunday against Houston, Gibson said the righty could make an appearance out of the bullpen if the situation called for it.

"Right now, Collmenter is our long guy in all reality, but he's scheduled to pitch Sunday," Gibson said. "If we really got in a bind, he wouldn't be an early long guy right now like he'd normally be, but if we got into a really extended game, I'd use him if we needed an extra pitcher. But right now, our bullpen is very rested and in good shape."

"Good shape" may be an understatement.

Arizona's 1.88 bullpen ERA since June 22 is the best in the National League, and Collmenter has been a large contributor, posting a 1-0 record with a 1.30 ERA since May.

Gibson described his second-year pitcher as "very versatile," and said Collmenter has filled every role the club has asked and it was "not even an issue."

"Watch some relievers around the league and the different things that they do when they get up to throw the ball. Some guys put gum in their mouth, some guys put tobacco in, some guys tie their shoes, some guys stretch a little bit. Collmenter, it's just his time to go."